Cyril Jose

Cyril Jose (1899-1984) was a British Army soldier who served at the Battle of the Somme during World War I, faking his age to join the military at the young age of 15.

Biography
William Cyril Jose was born in Fulham, Hammersmith, London in 1899, and he enlisted in the British Army at the start of World War I in 1914, faking his age to join the Devonshire Regiment at the young age of 15. He fought at the Battle of the Somme in 1916, writing letters home about his horrific experiences in battle. His age was later discovered, and he was sent to a special camp until he was old enough to fight again, returning to France in 1918 to fight in the Hundred Days Offensive. He came home a changed man, skeptical of authority figures for the rest of his life. He died in Launceston, Cornwall in 1984.